For years I said that I wanted to quit my job and Andrew always tell me 'no.' And in his defense, for good reason. I mean, what would I do all day; how would I contribute to the overall family income. But now, I've got a plan. I've decided to bill doctors for the hours upon hours that I spend in their waiting rooms, patiently, waiting for them to come in and see Andrew. Why do I have to block off an entire day of my life, for an hour appointment that ends up taking 4 hours to complete. So I ask you .... How much is your time worth?
I've decided that mine is worth about $200 an hour. And let me tell you how I came up with that number. When I go with Andrew to the doctors, I don't willy nilly in to the office unprepared. I come equipped with all the papers all filled out and signed, all the scans already copied on disks (that the doctors can keep) which are numbered to the corresponding reports (that they can also keep for their own records), a copy of his chemo regiment and a list of his medications, all which are presented to the attending nurse in a color folder with the hospital name, doctors name and time and date of the appointment neatly written on the front.... in case they aren't aware of their own scheduling issues, I remind them of it.
I also keep a separate binder with duplicate copies of everything, phone numbers and dates of doctors we've seen, articles written about Ewing's and various other items and notebooks that help me to get through this process with ease. As my dad would say ... This not my first Rodeo!!!
I make things so easy, even a child can handle it. Andrew's case is presented in the paint by numbers, kindergarten, gran animals way that anyone can do. So why do we wait?
I think my favorite part of the waiting game is when they send in the nurse to take the vitals and ask her to take a history of Andrew's case .... that takes up a few minutes .... then comes the intern or resident to again hear the history ... who gives a damn, Doogie isn't touching my husband with a ten foot pole.... and then the dramatic, lengthy waiting begins... it could be an hour, it could be 2 ... yes we've waited that long .... thanks Johns Hopkins ... and finally the grand entrance of the doctor... who again, wants a history. This is when you know that none of those previous people actually matter in Andrew's case and that they were just the opening act to the show. And the song and dance pony show continues.
So maybe $200 is a low ball amount... I think my time is worth more... don't you? I don't want to bad mouth all doctors in the world.. Dr. Felice is the most punctional man I've ever met ... ever!! He never makes us waits, knows Andrew's case and reads the scans beforehand and never sends Doogie in first to do his job. I also want to commend Dr. Henshaw, who we saw this morning for a surgical consult.... a little late and a pony show, but helpful and had us out of the office within one hour... a record for us.
But I guess I wonder what would happen if I sent them a bill? Would they send it to insurance, or the complaint department at the hospital, or the pain-in-ass, PMS, overbearing wife department? Do hospitals have one of those? Who would pay my bill.... It's a big one!!!!
But even with all the waiting that we have had over the past few weeks, we did receive some great news this week from Andrew's oncologist, Dr. Thornton at Johns Hopkins. (email below)
Pre-lim result from MRI read looks great. Near complete resolution of soft tissue component of tumor, and the bone parts is "stable" (bone portion doesn't change, as the bone doesn't fill itself in again). This all sounds good, I will review in more detail on Wednesday, but just to set you guys at ease, everything looking good so far. Thanks- KAT
ANDREW'S TREATMENT IS WORKING AND HIS CANCER IS SHRINKING!!!!
This is just the news that we needed. I'm still considering billing for my valuable time lost, but getting news like this makes us know we are on the right path and that he is not going through all of this torture and poison for nothing. It is responding to treatment and we are currently interviewing .... yes I said interviewing ... radiation oncologist. I've also decided to treat any new doctor I meet like a job candidate. They are vying for a position in our families life and treating Andrew, is like treating the family. We are all involved and this person has to be a good fit in many respects. We hope to come to a decision soon. We are just cross checking references at the moment. It's a competitive process. And dealing with Pete and Steve and Jeremy and Andrew and Adam and Linda and Gwen and myself .... can be one hard task, so I pity the person we actually hire for the job. Part of the job requirements from now on, on time ... or you're fired!! Not kidding!!
But besides that Andrew is doing great, feeling great and continuing to live each day to the fullest. We have amerced ourselves in PSU football and even though we may not be there this year, our spirit at "communion" lives on each week with the help of our tailgating mentor, Jamey Perry!!! We can't wait to be back next year!!!
Ye Ha .. Ride 'um cowboy!!!
